Renting the Right Limo

People love to travel: planes and trains for long distance, and taxis and buses for shorter, urban or semi-urban commuting or travel. But there is another option, one that is symbolic of luxury and group travel: limousine rental. These popular, elongated cars are not just for celebrities going to awards dinners; even everyday people may sometimes contact a limousine company to rent a group car, such as teenagers going to prom, or adults going to a bachelor or bachelorette party, or engaged couples going to their wedding in style. A group car like a limousine can easily accommodate a small party, but knowing how to rent a limousine is important for making sure there are no mishaps or mistakes along the way. How can group transportation be hired? And when is it the right time for renting a group car?

The Limo Business

Limousine companies make their money from more than just celebrities and world leaders traveling to high profile events in cities. In fact, across the United States, some 130,000 limousine rental services are available, and many of them are small, having five or fewer vehicles in their fleets. Plenty of people are employed by these group car services and similar companies; as of 2016, for example, there were around 305,100 taxi drivers, ride-hailing drivers, and chauffeurs available in taxi companies and any given limousine company. In fact, for some high end customers, luxurious and custom limos have been built. Some of them exceed 100 feet in length, and may have anything from a Jacuzzi to a king size bed to even a helipad. Average customers won’t see these features, but even a regular limo has plenty to offer. When is it time to hire a group car, and what criteria should be met?

Find the Right Transportation

For today’s average customers of group car rentals and limos, finding a few companies is not too difficult. In fact, around 86% of limo companies will have their own websites (which may have info such as limo photos and driver profiles), and around half of these websites even allow customers to make reservations online. Otherwise, a customer can look up limo rental services nearby in any online search engine and call the company on the phone.

How to get the right group car? For one thing, the customer should double check that the limo service will drive to the customer’s location and take them where they want to go, and back again. Aside from that, customers can inquire about fees, features, car models, and driver profiles. Sometimes, limo rentals can involve fees that clients are not expecting, such as paying for in-car wine buckets or movie screens, and the limo charges for gas, operating not too differently from a taxi. In addition, the customer can ask to review the limousine in person before agreeing to rent it. This way, the client can check for anything from dents and scratches to worn out seat padding, messes from the previous party, or anything else. The driver’s qualifications and customer reviews should be considered as well.

Finally, the client’s party size affects what kind of group car to hire. Some limos are bigger than others, and a limo that seats twelve is wasted on a party of six. Instead, the customer can find a limo of the right seating capacity to save money while having enough room for everyone. For prom, for example, several couples may gather together and hire a limo for eight or ten people, while a wedding party may be even larger. Smaller groups, or even a single person, may opt for a tiny limo, such as one that only seats four or six customers.